Accidentally In Love
by GeekyContradiction
Summary: "And with the crowd's worried whispers, Annabeth's hope sunk. She would be leaving, there was no debate about it, and there would be no telling when she would be coming back." Remake of the old version.


**Dedication: Mythomagic 101, who did me the great honor of reading it the first time.**

**Disclaimer: I have not yet found a way to obtain the rights to the Percy Jackson Series nor the Heroes of Olympus **

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_Whizz! Whizz! _The metal tip of the arrow soared just past her ear as the other hit the stone walls of the castle corridor with a clank, sending the servants into a flurry. On instinct, Annabeth whirled in an attempt to determine the source of the arrow, eventually tracking its path back to the open window cut out from the rock. She began running towards it, knife in hand and ready to defend the castle, but was stopped by her best friend, Thalia.

"Come on, we have to get out of here-your father's orders." Thalia did not wait for a reply as she grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the chaos of the hallway, towards the designated safe house in the castle. Annabeth jerked back her wrist, trying to get free and return to the battle that was not doubt occurring, judging by the harsh sounds of metal against metal coming from the courtyard, but the raven-haired princess was stronger and would not relinquish her hold.

"Do you not want to be out there, fighting for the castle? It is not like you to obey a direct order without some threat hanging over your head." The blonde tried to reason with her friend, even as she found herself being dragged further and further from where she wanted to be, but there was also genuine concern in her voice at her friend's behavior. The last time she had done exactly what she was told was when her mother had asked her to keep her younger brother safe only seconds before she had died. Her brother, Jason, had been unwillingly held inside the castle without any chance of escape for about a month afterwards and Thalia was still overly protective of him. In fact, Annabeth was pretty sure that the only reason he had been let out of his, "prison," was because he had promised to keep several guards with him at all times.

Thalia turned to face her best friend, not halting their dash through the palace, and muttered a quick, "Be quiet," before turning back to her original position. When they finally arrived, they crawled through the secret passage until they reached the designated safe room and sat on the floor of the nearly bare cavern. Aside from the entrance to the room, a tunnel hastily cut out of an outcropping in the cliff the castle rested on, the room contained only a few cots with thin white sheets, but Annabeth was far more concerned about why they were there as opposed to where they were. After they had somewhat settled, Thalia and began to explain.

"I was in the throne room when news of the attack came from one of the servants. It was not exactly a surprise considering the number of attempted sieges on the neighboring kingdoms, but they spurred into action immediately. I went to go get my bow," Thalia was, admittedly, one of the best archers of the kingdom and she wasn't even actually a part of the kingdom," When I overheard what your parents were discussing on the way to the battle. They are setting up plans to send you away for your safety until the outbreaks stop."Annabeth's eyes widened and her mouth dropped opened at her friend's last sentence. She began to protest, but Thalia stopped her and continued.

"I know, but I didn't decide this. Anyways, I was hoping if we could prove that we can keep you safe during these raids- that the heir to the kingdom is perfectly protected- then they might change their minds. Unfortunately, if we are to prove that you are safe we will have to keep you out of harm's way." Suddenly, her best friend's behavior seemed far less erratic and far more genius. It was a long shot; her father was severely protective and the odds would be against them, but her mother was more rational and, if they could appeal to her sense of logic, they might be able to persuade her to let her stay. With ideas bubbling in their minds, the two princesses spent the night devising their argument as the battle outside drew to an end.

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"So, in conclusion, I would be much safer within the walls of Athens due to our advanced military system, the well-constructed plans for emergency evacuation," Annabeth knew that line was just plain flattery as it was her mother who had designed and applied the security evacuation plans, but her mother's fatal flaw was pride and she figured that it might get her somewhere-or rather, keep her where she was," and the loyalty of the people who would protect their royal family at all costs. "The silence in the grand throne room was deafening as both Thalia and Annabeth waited for a final decision to be made. Seconds seemed to be hours and the standstill of the moment was only amplified by the bated breaths and eager eyes until the King and Queen rose, presumably, with a verdict.

"Thank you for your compelling argument." Everyone in the room knew that the formalities were just their king-her father's-way of sugar coating what he was going to say, as if he had actually considered the possibility of changing his mind. It had, of course, been obvious that he had immediately dismissed the argument, but his wife's face provided a glimpse into her thought process-a glimpse that told them that her opinion may have swayed.

The King hesitated to continue, seeing the uncertainty etched onto the Queen's face, but plowed on, putting on a mask of confidence all the while silently hoping that he was making the right decision," We have deliberated on the matter at hand, carefully taking each factor into account, and it is, with the common good in mind, that we have decided that Princess Annabeth _will _be taken to live in hiding for the duration of the unsettlement. We can only justify this decision with the hopes that, should this…situation take a bigger toll than we expect, there will be a strong monarchy left to continue on," There were a few gasps at what the King was implying, but Annabeth simply continued biting her cheek in an attempt to stop herself from yelling out that it wasn't fair.

Luckily for her cheek, her mother decided to intervene before there was a riot," However, we have decided that, for her sake, Princess Thalia of Olympus will be joining her as company." It was not Queen Athena's words that calmed the crowd or the manner in which she held herself as she addressed them, but rather, the somber look that she bore telling them all that it was difficult to do it but it must be done. And with the crowd's worried whispers, Annabeth's hope sunk. She would be leaving, there was no debate about it, and there would be no telling when she would be coming back.

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**Author's Note**

**Check out the message board/chat room that I set up for this story for news on updates. The link is on my profile and the password is Sophia (Those who have read the original will understand.)**

**Question of the Chapter:**

**If you could pick any name for yourself except the one that you actually have, what would it be?**


End file.
